When we received a box of assorted chips from a company with the smile inducing name Flamous, we were impressed by the good humor of the name but not so sure about those chips. They sounded a bit too gimmicky and cute, sort of like what a quirky Wharton MBA might come up with for a project in a seminar on Brand Management. Plus because they had all the right ingredients. Our two varieties of falafel chips and one bag of zattar chips were all organic, non-GMO, gluten-free and high in antioxidants. Our cynical side was on red alert.

We first tried the falafel chips but unknowingly (or perhaps California-like) dipped them in salsa (DOH…insert Homer Simpson noise here) instead of hummus. We ended up with a split decision on the falafel chip’s merits. When we tried them again with NBN’s own famously garlicky hummus, they got two thumbs up. Made with organic garbanzo beans, they’re best with a savory Middle Eastern dip.

But we really fell in love with those Zatar Chips. Despite the fact that NBN loves Middle Eastern food as much as ice cream and misses Brooklyn’s Sahadi Market as much as Zabar’s, I didn’t know zatar from a sitar. Turns out in zatar is an ancient spice mix as well as a snack, sometimes eaten as a complete meal. So much for thinking these chips were the greatest invention since Al Rosen founder of the Garden of Eatin’ brand (now owned by Hain) created the first blue corn chips. Or more likely was the first person to blue corn chips put into a bag with a price tag or bar code on it

Munch a bunch of zatar chips with or without hummus or a dip. Tasty, really tasty and made with actual multi-grain ingredients (sorry SunChips I love you but you’re sleazy compared to these babies) like brown rice, buckwheat, and flax. Write if you need our recipe for hummus or lemon tahini sauce.